The Mechanic
The Mechanic' '''is the 6th issue of ''Batman'89 Plot Batman is pursuing members of the Red Triangle Circus Gang in their getaway vehicle. After The Organ Grinder sees that bullets bounce harmlessly off the Batmobile's armor, The Thin Clown takes drastic action to escape, jumping the car off the end of a dividing bridge, to crash into the bed of a garbage scow passing underneath. Batman brakes to a stop, but not soon enough to prevent the front end of the Batmobile going under the bridge and being crushed as it comes back down. The Batmobile limps to a secret garage operated by a teenage black mechanic named Dick Grayson, who designed the vehicle. He says he will need a few days to repair it, and in the meantime gives Batman and Robin two Batcycles to ride. In the Arctic Zoo, it is revealed that the Red Triangle Circus Gang are now working for a new crime lord called Sewer King. Sewer King is angered that his associates have botched the robbery they were assigned to carry out; instead of stealing the rare-edition stamps he wanted, they have stolen much less valuable ones by mistake, which aren't even worth enough to cover the repairs to the getaway car. But then The Thin Clown introduces an acquaintance of his, Arnold Rundle, who works for an auto parts company. Rundle says that, based on The Thin Clown's description of the damage suffered by the Batmobile, Rundle has created a list of the kind of exotic parts that would be needed to fix it, and has traced a sale of such parts to Earl's garage—and has been compiling his list for some time. Count is delighted, and rewards Rundle with a large check—before bundling him onto the Penguin's rebuilt "rubber ducky" boat that vanishes down a raging whirlpool. Sewer King and his thugs invade Dick's garage and take Dick and his cousin Marva, hostage. At first, Dick refuses to help Sewer King, who is intrigued to know why he is so loyal to Batman. Dick explains how he and Batman met. Dick was a former acrobatic circus performer before his family was murdered when he was a boy. That caused Dick to live on the streets of Gotham and steal to survive. Batman fought Dick when they first met after Batman catches Dick stealing. Dick uses his skills to escape, and Batman is fascinated that Dick is skillful enough to escape him. Later that week, Batman gets shot while fighting Phil Andrews and his mob, but is saved by Dick. These leads Batman to trust Dick which was why he asked him to fix his batmobile and add upgrades to it after seeing he was a good mechanic. Batman is called in to pick up the repaired Batmobile. With The Poodle Lady watching from the shadows, Dick tells Batman that Marva is "down in the basement", and emphasizes that he has fixed the car's air conditioning switch. As soon as they drive away, Sewer King follows in his own car, taking Marva along as a hostage and leaving some of the Red Triangle Gang members to guard Dick. Dick has been forced to rig the Batmobile with a remote control held by Sewer King. Laughing like a maniac, Sewer King has a fine old time sending the car on a crazy ride, with Batman trapped inside and unable to control it. Batman presses the eject button, but it has been disabled. Finally, Sewer King decides to end the game. He drives the Batmobile to the roof of a parking structure and prepares to send them off the edge. Batman realizes that Dick was trying to warn them, as "down in the basement" is a slang term in race car driving for crashing. Remembering what else Dick said, Batman presses the air conditioning switch, and the ejector seats fire, launching him to safety. The Batmobile goes off the edge and explodes, and Sewer King believes he has won. Back at the garage, it is believed that Batman has died. Unable to contain himself, Dick attacks the Red Triangle Gang. Meanwhile, Batman glides down and attacks Sewer King and his thugs. Count tries to get away, dragging Marva along and opening fire on Batman until Marva stomps on his feet. Batman is able to save Marva from Sewer King. Dick packs up his toolkit, sad that he will have to leave the garage, now that its location has been compromised. Batman assures him that he is setting up an even better one for him. He also adds that, from now on, future parts will be ordered through dummy corporations so no one else can trace him as Sewer King did. Dick, feeling no regrets after the incident, launches on an enthusiastic description of the newer, better Batmobile he's going to build. Later on when Batman turns the Red Triangle Gang over to the police, they confess to how Penguin murdered the Ice Princess and rigged the Batmobile during the Christmas massacre. They also confess to Sewer King being their new leader. At Stonegate Penitentiary, Sewer King has been put to work in the license plate factory, scrubbing the finished plates clean. He comes across one that reads "1BAT4U", and snaps it in half in a rage.''